Aug.  I,  1895.]  THE  TROPICAL  AGRICULTURIST. 
bushels,  which  is  etjuivaleiit  to  I’OS  bushels  per  head 
of  population,  which  is  perhaps  fairly  correct. 
Palmiittlis  and  Coconuts. — The  planting  of  these  is 
gradually  increasing  : — Palmirahs.  Coconuts. 
Acreage  in  1893  . . 798  . . 782 
Acreage  in  1891  . . 806  . . 814 
There  is  no  reason  why  large  plantations  should  not 
be  made  in  Karikkadumulai  South,  where  there  is 
much  suitable  Grown  land  available. 
Jfaniova. — I am  glad  to  see  that  this  valuable 
product  has  “come  to  stay."  Introduced  by  Mr.  G.  INI. 
Fowler  in  1886,  it  made  its  way  very  slowly  at  fii-st, 
but  now  the  cultivation  is  advancing  “ by  leaps  and 
bounds.” 
Three  cart  loads  of  plants  were  sent  from  Jaffna  by 
the  Government  Agent  in  1886  and  distributed 
amongst  the  people  of  Putukudiyiruppu.  I can  find 
no  mention  01  the  produce  until  last  year,  when  the 
yield  was  reported  to  be  9,400  lb.,  value  R470  at  ,5 
cents  per  lb.  In  1894  the  yield  was  20,000  lb.,  value 
R800  at  4 cents  per  lb. 
Indian  Com  is  strangely  neglected  in  the  Wanni.  It 
is  reported  that  a quarter  of  an  acre  was  sown  in  1894, 
which  yielded  5 bushels. 
New  Areas 
Cultivated. 
Acres. 
Paddy 
• « • • 
102 
Kurakkan 
• • • . 
28 
Coconuts 
• * • • 
31 
Tobacco 
. . 
31 
Total 
..  192 
PROGRESS  IN  OLD  PUSSELLAWE  : AND 
THE  NATIVE  TEA  INDUSTRY. 
And  old  planter  who  had  not  been  above  Gani- 
f)ola  and  tlirougli  Pussellawe  for  30  years,  gives 
lis  iinpres.siona  of  a recent  visit  as  follows  : — 
“ I drove  six  miles  up  the  Pussellawe  road  last  week 
in  a burst  of  the  monsoon  ; but  as  it  is  nearly  30  years 
since  I was  last  up  there,  I remember  nothing  but 
mere  names,  and  an  occasional  field  of  coffee,  and 
coffee  stores  now  non  est.  But  patnas  have  been,  and 
are  being  planted  up  everywhei'e,  rendering  it  im- 
possible to  recognize  old  boundaries  to  all  but  those 
engaged  in,  or  watching  the  proceeding.  Added 
to  this,  extensive  f)revilled  plantations  and  old  land- 
marks have  become  undistinguishable.  It  was  thought 
the  natives  would  never  recover  from  the  loss  of 
their  coflee  gardens,  but  tea  has  more  than  compen- 
sated them  in  the  surrounding  patnas,  and  doubtless 
these  have  been  the  salvation  of  many  of  our  own 
old  estates  also.  For  one  native  proprietor  of  coffee 
garden,  there  must  be  a dozen  in  tea.  Little,  well- 
planted,  well-kept,  model  estates  of  30  acres,  giving 
.300  to  500  lb.  an  acre  are  common  enough  i»  native 
hands.  Yet  the  old  king  still  fiourishes  along  this 
road  better  than  I have  seen  it  elsewhere,  and  all 
the  trees  are  heavy  with  crops.  If  coffee  was  ‘king,’ 
tea  seems  likely  to  be  ‘ emperor,’  not  ‘ queen.’  I 
asked  a native  the  other  day,  if  he  would  sell  such 
a garden  of  31  acres,  and  he  replied, 
‘ NOT  FOR  R500  AN  ACRE  1’ 
A European  boxight  one  some  time  ago  and 
I am  told  it  is  now  giving  6,50  lb.  made  tea  an 
acre,  and  that  his  price  is  R600  an  acre — made  out 
of  patna  land.  These  gardens  are  all,  of  course,  in 
small  tundus  ; but  there  are  large 'tracts  of  such 
land  belonging  to  estate  proprietors  still  unplanted. 
Against  this,  the  tea  on  the  old  estates,  planted  in 
old  coffee  and  cinchona  land,  does  not  seem  to  be 
doing  half  so  well,  and  some  of  it  rather  badly. 
The  old  ‘ Black  Stcre  ’ on  the  Pussellawe  road,  so 
well-known,  (and  familiar  enough  to  me  30  years  ago) 
is  still  in  existence,  bearing  evident  signs  of  old  age  : 
Btore  walls  have  followed  decay,  or  ravages  of  white 
ants  upwards,  till  now  only  the  upper  half  is  left. 
Between  this  and  Gampola  extensive  tea  factories 
enliven  the  scene  in  every  direction,  and  strings  of 
leal  carts  meet  you  at  every  turn," 
EMIGRATION  FROM  SOUTHERN  INDIA. 
Emigration  from  the  Madras  Presidency  is  the 
subject  of  a leading  article  in  the  Madras  Mail 
of  a recent  date.  A decrease  of  17,746  in  the 
number  of  emigrants,  as  compared  with  the  pre- 
vious year,  is  a])|ilical)le  to  all  the  countrie.s 
which  tap  Imlia  for  their  labour  sup[dy,  vVith  the 
.single  e.xception  of  Tilauritius.  The  favourable 
character  of  the  season  in  Tanjore  and  other  dis- 
tricts is  stateil  as  the  cause 'of  the  falling  oH', 
in  this  connection,  it  being  explained  that’it  is 
ditticult  to  give  accurate  figures  owing  to  the  im- 
jiossibility  of  distinguishing  between  pas.sengers 
and  emigrants.  As  regards  C'eylon,  it  is  stated 
that  the  numlier  decreased  fre'm  91,021  in  1893 
to  87,23.5  in  1894.  Of  tlie  labour-agencies  main- 
tained at  Madras  by  the  Mauritius  and  Natal 
Governments,  it  is  recorded  that  the  accommo- 
dation and  tlie  treatment  of  coolies  were  all  that 
could  be  desired.  Interesting  figures  are  given, 
having  reference  to  Burma,  the  Straits  Settle- 
ments, Mauritius  and  Natal. 
PLANTING  NOTbiS  FROM  COORG. 
South  Coobg,  June  19. — Dr.  Voelcker  has  said  that 
the  laterite  soils  of  the  coffee  and  tea  districts  of 
Southern  India  are  deficient  in  lime.  Knowing  the 
composition  of  bones  and  that  they  are  largely  made 
use  of  as  manure  for  coffee,  one  is  led  to  infer  that 
this  deficiency  is  made  up  for  and  hence  the  coffee 
thrives.  But  although  bones  may  supply  the  food 
requirements  of  the  trees  of  lime,  yet  it  is  to  be 
feared  that  they  play  a very  unimportant  part  in 
correcting  any  sourness  that  may  result  in  the  soil 
from  an  overplus  of  humus.  This  is  a matter  of  some 
importance  as  all  coffee  estates  are  the  sites  of  old 
forest  land,  which  are  consequently  very  rich  in  humus, 
and  this  is  being  continually  augmented  by  cattle 
manuring,  the  burial  of  weeds  and  other  debris  and 
the  droppings  of  shade  trees.  I am  afraid  that  many 
of  the  ills  that  coffee  suffers  from  are  to  be  put  down 
to  the  sourness  resulting  in  the  soil  from  an  over- 
plus of  humus.  Professor  H.  Tanner,  f.c.s.,  says 
“The  phosphate  of  lime  present  in  bones  is  the  tri- 
calcic  phosphate.  When  the  bones  are  acted  upon  in 
the  soil  by  rain-water,  which,  as  you  know,  contains 
carbonic  acid — or  w'hen  acted  Upon  by  the  carbonic 
acid  produced  in  the  soil— in  each  case  we  got  one 
equivalent  of  the  lime  removed  by  the  carbonic  acid, 
and  the  tri-calcic  phosphate  acted  upon  then  becomes 
bi-calcic  phosphate  and  carbonate  of  lime.  The  bi- 
calcic  phosphate  dissolves  gradually  in  water,  and  is 
thus  taken  up  into  the  circulation  of  plants  in  a 
soluble  fox'm.  Bones,  thou,  act  in  a small  way  like 
kuick  lime  in  absorbing  the  carbonic  acid  produced 
by  the  decay  of  humus  in  the  soil.  But  the  union 
that  is  effected  between  the  one  equivalent  of  lime 
(tri-calcic  phosphate  consist  of  one  part  phosphoric 
acid  and  three  parts  lime)  .and  the  cai  honic  acid 
renders  it  inactive  and  of  vevv  little  further  good. 
And  when  the  small  quantity  o'f  lime  that  is  liberated 
is  taken  into  consideration,  it  becomes  almost  insigni- 
ficant. The  conclusion  one  naturally  arrives  at  then 
is  that,  although  bones  are  used  as  manure,  appli- 
cations of  quick  lime  are  necessary. — M.  Mail, 

'I'ka  — We  .are  indebted  to  Mr. 
.loliii  Hamilton  of  Messrs.  S.  Kmdan- A Co.  for 
an  admirable  letter  on  Ibis  snbjcei,  wbieb  puts  the 
whole  business  in  ;i  \ery  clear  light.  Mr. 
Hamilton  shows  tliat  those  interested  in  tea 
])lantations  are  no  losers.  For,  .although  the 
tea  sweeping  may  be  from  the  shii»pers’  own 
estates,  by  the  system  of  weighing  in  vogue  they 
h.ad  alrctidy  been  credited  with  the  tea  before 
thei»ackage  was  opened,  so  no  loss  falls  on  them. 
Re-selling  tea  swee|iings  is  of  course  .another 
question,  .and  there  the  planter  is  injured,  as  Mr, 
ttainilton  readily  admits. 
